Joy and Pain
Lord, yours is a big story.
Too big to be understood.
Too big to be written.
Yours is a big story.
A story of…
Love
Your love is written in joy.
Yet your love is also written in pain.
Joy that we share.
And pain that we share.
Our pain.
Your pain.
Love written in…
Pain
And love written in…
Joy
For in the midst of our pain,
ㅤ there is joy.
Joy to be shared.
The joy of victory.
The joy of celebration.
The joy of love.
The overwhelming joy of Christ’s…
Love
However,
ㅤ our focus is distorted.
For we magnify our pain.
We hide the joy of others under the shadows.
Under the shadows of our pain.
At the expense of others…
At the expense of the Kingdom…
We focus on…
Self
We view our lives,
ㅤ and we view the lives of others,
Through the lens of self.
Through the lens of our suffering.
Through the lens of our own…
Pain
But God’s story is bigger than our pain.
God’s story is bigger than us.
And he invites us.
He invites us into his story.
Into this story that is bigger than we can understand.
Bigger than we can know.
Bigger than we can…
Imagine
He invites to step out of our story.
To leave behind our limited story.
And to step into his story.
To experience his glory.
To experience the joy of his…
Majesty
He invites us,
ㅤ implores us,
To step out of our story…
To step out of our pain…
And to step into his story.
To step into the stories of others,
ㅤ and to see…
Jesus
To see Jesus at work.
To see Jesus healing.
To see Jesus giving joy.
To see Jesus…
Loving
Today Jesus invites us…
Invites me…
To step out of my story,
ㅤ out of my pain,
And into his…
Love
a bit of performance art — I wrote as the speaker spoke…
